I recently went to a local evening workshop on printmaking. It was a bit tricky as I had to ask for help with cutting the Lino and some of the printing too, due to my impairments. So really I couldn’t do much of it and also had to lie in the other room several times to get through the couple of hours. But thanks to the kindness of a near stranger I (we) had something to show for it by the end. It was great to feel part of a group and see what others made.

I studied some Barnacles from photos I had taken at the beach. I also have some stuck to a mussel shell that my Mum found on the beach and gave to me. I drew some and then carved the shapes out of a lovely soft printing block. I was given this block by a good friend and have fallen in love with it. Unfortunately it is no longer made! It was very easy to carve (once I had doubled my original drawing size, as the way I started was just impossible to carve. It was far too small and detailed. I am a complete print-making amateur so it has all been trial and error). I tested the print with green ink and this helped me to see where the ink was catching and where I needed to carve a bit more.

I also created a pattern based on a photo I took of gentle waves coming into shore. I printed this with silver ink.

Once it was dry I added the barnacle shapes.

This was my initial intention for the finished project. I wanted to do something to mark (celebrate!) the fact that I now live on the coast, and just found the two patterns (waves and barnacles) and combined them. However, I recently attended a book-making workshop and thought that I could present this print in the form of a book. I flipped through my new book-making book (Making Handmade Books by Alisa Golden) and really liked the concertina design with pockets. I realised I could put two prints together and make four pockets. So then I needed to think of something to put IN the pockets. I know that Rachael likes poetry so I googled for “barnacle poem” not thinking that anyone would have written about barnacles. How wrong I was!

I made a cover, and called the book “Littoral” which is a word I learned in French, it means “coastal” generally, but can also mean the area between the high and low tide marks that is undefined as land or sea. I like that there is a word for this space.

I cut this cover in half to make the front and back. It is made of a textured white card. The cut intentionally goes through one of the barnacle prints, so that even though the back spine is open, the design joins up when the two halves sit side-by-side.

The print-making process was very long and involved a lot of experimentation. As I made four books, and each included two of the silver prints, as well as a cover and each of the poems, there were a lot of prints to be made. I also had to plan how they would be made into the book pages and position the printing in preparation for that. There were some mistakes and some splodges but I had a limited amount of time, energy, paper and space! Some of the mistakes were carried over into the finished books. I had help from my partner with the print-making. She was absolutley invaluable as she fetched and carried the paper before and after printing so that I did not have to keep getting up, as well as cleaning and tidying up for me. It still took us hours!

Here is a picture of some of the prints drying (this took at least three days, as the ink is oil-based)

Here is what the finished product looks like. These pictures are of two books, showing what each side looks like.

This is the front cover and the book when open, showing the front and back covers, and the two silver prints inside.

Here is what Rachael sent to me: First a little book about the process. I re-lived her thoughts and experiences with every flip of the page.

Then the actual prints! She labelled them for me…

First attempt:

Second (more careful) attempt:

Happy accident:

Variation on a theme:

My fave (disco remix):

They are cards. Inside each one was a message about our project and what it means to her. I love the messages and the prints too. Getting each printed card out of it’s envelope was like following the print-making journey. Fabulous presentation!

Use fairly substantial things – my leaf skeleton attempt was not very good, but normal leaves worked well.

Do it for longer than 15 minutes – I did a tester for 35 minutes in full and very bright sun in September which came out great. The ones I did for less were not so good.

Glass worked best for weighing things down (I took apart a picture frame and used the glass from that). Acetate was not heavy enough so things were not so squashed down. As the sun moved the shadow of the items moved too and this meant a less crisp image.

The images do come out brighter than they look before you rinse them, but if you can’t see anything when you lift the item up, there is probably not much there!

I found that doing both sides did affect the quality of the prints as it showed through a bit, but feel free to experiment as it was the failed leaf skeleton that I tried that with…

Good luck & Enjoy!

(If you want to do something creative with your sun-printed fabric all the better!)

I had previously sent her some sun print fabric.

Here is what we did with it!

First my sunprints:

And here is what I made with my favourite – I used a ribbon that Rachael gave me to make the sun print! It is a relaxing eye pillow with lavender inside.

Here is what Rachael sent to me – she used a fern and some marbles to great effect:

This was a tricky challenge but it was fun and I think the results are pretty good!

It has been an inspiring time for me lately, though i have been very busy and have not actually done much creative work. I have been getting out and about quite a bit more than usual as i have been feeling stronger and have had visitors, so have been making little trips out to shops and an art gallery.

The first thing that happened was a few weeks ago, when my good friend RachelCreative sent me a book: Nature’s Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick by Jenny Uglow. Here is an article describing the book. I think she saw the connection to my bird project and my love of nature as well as the fact that he was from Newcastle, where i currently live. I am only half way through the book so far, it is a very well written and absorbing read. I have learnt a lot about Newcastle’s history and the second half of the Eighteenth Century seems to have been a time of great change with some of Newcastle’s most important buildings and streets having been built. I feel more connected to the city now, as i have been feeling as if i am not really a resident of Newcastle: I rarely get to go to town and even when i do i cannot wander the streets, only get out of the taxi then back in again on the same street a bit later… each time i go in so much has changed and feels unfamiliar. I feel that in learning more about it’s history, I saw it differently when i went into town recently, which was so nice to experience. I was also feeling well and managed to go to four different places/buildings in town, which added to my feeling of being in the town properly!

So a couple of weeks ago i went to an art and craft shop as i have a few birthdays etc coming up and i wanted to get some special things. I do most of my shopping online, but it is so nice to be able to go into a shop, especially when looking for something handmade and unique, and to actually see it and touch it before choosing.

I did not get something for all the occasions i needed to buy for, but i did find a beautiful card of a wood engraving by Caroline Coode. Unfortunately she does not have a website for me to link to, and i think it does breach copyright to post a picture of the card here, but take it from me it is exquisite – i noticed it as it has a feel of Bewick’s woodcuts – small and detailed. It is called “Lindisfarne Castle – early morning” and shows the castle and it’s reflection in the sea, with vegetation in the foreground and a tiny person walking their dog, as well as a sprinkling of birds above. As we went to Lindisfarne in February it reminded me of the special holiday we had and i fell in love with it! I found a few references to her online and she turned 70 last year (see here for flyer (half way down page) for her retrospective) and is a Quaker. There are a few of her images here on Flickr. It is so interesting to discover a local artist carrying on making woodcuts in Newcastle after learning about Bewick…

It made me think and look at my photos from that holiday and wonder how i would go about reducing those images down to simple lines and silhouettes…

During that recent trip into town I went to the Laing Art Gallery to see the Bewick exhibition they are currently showing and it was absolutely fascinating.

Amazing to see the actual boxwood blocks that he had engraved and how tiny and detailed they were. Also showing was part of the Northern Print Biennale which was showing contemporary work and also very interesting to see how simple some of the most effective images were. I went to the gift shop and found some more inspiration there – printmaking and simple sillhoutte designs are everywhere when you start to look! From wrapping paper to cards, to the teapot i now own as my partner bought it as my anniversary present (ECP design):

(note the bird-theme!)

And also this leather brooch, which i love, and bought for myself.

See next post for a card i have made, inspired by Caroline Coode and all this lovely stuff – hoping i have the energy to do lots more soon!